Federal legislation in 1996 imposed severe restrictions on immigrant eligibility for public benefits, which created a chilling effect that discouraged even eligible immigrants and their families from accessing needed income, healthcare, and food. States recognized the harm to the community as a whole when some members are excluded from public benefits and have filled in some of these gaps. But the better solution is to reverse the 1996 federal restrictions and reform our public benefit programs for a future society that is increasingly older, and an older adult population that is increasingly immigrant.
The estimated 5.4 million children in the United States providing unpaid care, support, and assistance to their family members and other individuals are called "youth caregivers." Before the COVID-19 pandemic, youth caregivers existed on the fringes of American society, without recognition in state or federal policy. They experience higher levels of social isolation, depression, anxiety, and absenteeism from school in comparison to their non-caregiving peers. The pandemic has only served to widened the disparities they face. This article presents recommendations for research, policy, and practice to build a more equitable "Post-COVID-19" society for youth caregivers.
This article discusses the intersection of culture, cultural competence, cultural humility, and implicit bias, and how they impact the diversity spectrum of older adults including people of color, members of the LGBTQIA population, those with differing abilities, rural, tribal, and immigrant communities.
Many older adults struggle to meet their daily expenses, but persons of color have amplified risk of economic insecurity. In this article, by situating older adults in their geographic locations of residence, we discuss how life-course experiences intersect with aspects of older people's communities to produce disparities in experiencing precarious financial situations. Race-based risks and disadvantages that accumulate over time yield racial disparities in income among older adults. Taking into account local cost of living reveals substantial disparities in economic security by race. Disparities are far greater in some states than in others.
Food insecurity is an enormous problem in the United States, including in the older adult population, with notable negative health impacts such as malnutrition. Food insecurity has increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Older Americans Act Nutrition Services Program can help alleviate food insecurity. These programs have had some issues, both pre- and post-pandemic, but have been able to adapt to meet the challenges they faced. Food insecurity must be tackled head-on to invest in better health for all older Americans.
